User blog:Applemasterexpert/Fandom
Wikia.com has rebranded to FANDOM. The FANDOM brand name covers all aspects of the site, meaning that all wikis, , and news and stories (currently available in the U.S.) are all part of the new FANDOM brand. By bringing them all together under one brand, we open the door to exciting opportunities to further expand the site and your wikis. Below, we answer some of the major questions behind the rebrand. General FAQ What is FANDOM Over the years, you and your communities have evolved to become an authentic and authoritative source of entertainment knowledge. Look no further than how creators use communities for their creations. Simon Pegg, for example, utilized the extensive fan knowledge of Memory Alpha as he co-wrote the script for Star Trek Beyond. Between your wiki communities, news and stories (which will be launched in additional international markets and languages), and other products, FANDOM lets you and other fans just like you find and share expert fan insight on your favorite TV shows, movies, games, and more. What is the scope of the rebrand? The FANDOM brand is being integrated across our whole global presence. You will see a revamped global navigation, a modified global search, and new Explore Wikis homepages for supported non-English languages that highlight popular communities. These are just the first steps in a larger vision of delivering a comprehensive fan experience worthy of our communities and the users who have built them into what they are. Why are you rebranding Wikia.com? Wikia has grown a lot over the years. We started in 2004 under the name Wikicities, and back then we were a simple wiki hosting site. If someone wanted to create a wiki, they submitted a request, we reviewed it, and, if we thought the scope of the project would be successful, we approved it. Since then, the site—which rebranded to Wikia in 2006—has evolved into the web's best entertainment knowledge-sharing platform. That evolution has enabled us to look at how we can further expand the platform in a way that keeps your communities at the core of who we are, while at the same time attracting new fans to consume your content and building new ways to contribute to the site. This began earlier this year with the introduction of a FANDOM news and stories editorial hub in our first market, the United States. News and stories bring the pulse of entertainment to fans' fingertips through a mix of original and curated content, including stories created by Fan Contributors. We also launched to better facilitate passionate conversations. These advancements are just the beginning as we dedicate ourselves to making our platform the fan's voice in entertainment. How does the rebrand affect my wiki? On the community level, there are no user-facing changes to wiki functionality. Your content, editing, SEO and your URL structure remain unaffected (name.wikia.com will continue to be the URL format). Moving forward, of course, we believe that our stronger position as a media brand will, as talked about before, bring even more fans to your community to create and read content. So your wiki will continue to work the same, but we're facilitating ways for more people to take part in it. The rebrand brings a few immediate changes on the corporate level, however. In addition to being known as FANDOM, we also be introducing an updated global navigation that includes the FANDOM logo. This navigation will be consistent across the site, so you will see it on wikis, news and stories, and Discussions. In a number of languages, you will also see the dynamic new homepage that showcases popular communities to explore. In time, this will be rolled out to all of our supported languages. How will this impact my wiki's SEO? Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is all about how well your wiki ranks in search engine results. Our SEO analysts have determined that this will not impact your wiki's SEO. We believe that the growth of the brand will lead to more search engine visibility in the future, but in the short-term there are no impacts. Isn't FANDOM a more generic name than Wikia? Wikia is a unique name for sure, but, as loyal as we may all be to the Wikia brand, it doesn't have a lot of awareness in the general public. It's often difficult to explain and it doesn't fully represent what we have evolved into: the largest entertainment fan site in the world, and the fan's voice in entertainment. FANDOM represents that and will be a stronger brand term moving forward, one that has already resonated with fans across the world through the introduction of news and stories. Not all wikis are about pop culture, so how do they fit in? The name FANDOM best represents the majority of the platform. Plus, the way we see it, the term FANDOM is applicable to any passion or interest that fosters avid enthusiasm and community. That certainly applies to lifestyle wikis, even if they're not pop culture focused. How will Wikia's Twitter and other social channels be affected? Our FANDOM social accounts are the go-to place for all community and entertainment news. We're @getFANDOM on Twitter and Facebook.com/getFANDOM on Facebook. International FAQ Will the FANDOM name be translated? No. Like most global brands, the brand name will not be translated. It will appear as FANDOM across the site and in all languages. Why are international communities rebranded if they don't have FANDOM yet? FANDOM doesn't just represent the editorial side of the platform. That's where the name started, but it represents everything. So it's true that the United States is currently the only market that has FANDOM news and stories, but the name encompasses the entire site now, not just one part of it. Moving forward we will be releasing news and stories in key supported markets and languages, so the editorial experience will be coming to major non-English languages soon. FANDOM is an American word, so how will it work internationally? The concept around the term fandom, even if the actual word is not used in non-English language, is something universally relevant and understood. So as we continue to champion fandoms and bring that word into greater awareness through our brand, we believe that the word will be very quickly understand by the millions of global fans who use the site. It's inherent to who we are as a company, so the meaning will become very clear. Plus, we're not the only company out there to use an English-language word internationally. Apple, Facebook, and SnapChat are all examples of brands that have English-language words throughout the world. SnapChat is an especially good example. That's a very Americanized term, but it's understood across the world. And going in the other direction, look at a company like Volkswagen ('people's car'). That's a German word, but it's understood globally. The word wiki itself isn't a word found in each language, including English (it stems from a Hawaiian word), so even the name Wikia doesn't have obvious international meanings to it. We're confident that non-English users will quickly come to understand FANDOM as well. de:Hilfe:FANDOM es:Ayuda:FANDOM fi:Ohje:FANDOM fr:Aide:FANDOM it:Aiuto:FANDOM ja:ヘルプ:FANDOM pl:Pomoc:FANDOM pt:Ajuda:FANDOM ru:Справка:FANDOM uk:Довідка:FANDOM vi:Trợ giúp:FANDOM zh:Help:FANDOM Category:Blog posts